Green Party of Pennsylvania
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, March 3, 2024
CONTACT:
Chris Robinson, Communication Team Co-Leader
267-977-0570 and [email protected]
Gaza Ceasefire Testimony by Greens Before Allegheny County Council
Out of 93 people who signed up to speak in favor of a ceasefire in Gaza before the Allegheny County Council on February 26, there were eleven members of the Green Party of Allegheny County (GPOAC), including Margaret Champion, Emily De Ferrari, Helen Gerhardt, Theron Gilliland, Wanda Guthrie, Abi Hunter, Kelly Kuzemchak, Justin Laing, Mel Packer, Jay Ting Walker and Clara Weibel. Others who testified in favor of a ceasefire were from Jewish Voice for Peace, labor unions and progressive organizations. Walker spoke on behalf of the GPOAC.
By Jay Ting Walker
My name is Jay Ting Walker and I live in District 11. I’m the chair of the Green Party of Allegheny County (GPOAC). Our party is made up of more than 1000 registered members from every corner of our county, and I speak on their behalf. Every one of us is dedicated to our party’s four pillars of Peace, Ecology, Social Justice, and Grassroots Democracy. Many of our members have been local leaders in the Palestine solidarity community for many years and continue to be to this day.
What’s happening in Gaza is genocide. Members of the Netanyahu administration including Prime Minister Netanyahu himself have made it very clear that Israel's purpose is to remove Palestinians from Gaza. As of today more than 29,000 Palestinians have been murdered. This genocide has been financed and facilitated by the U.S. government including President Joe Biden, with support from both Houses of Congress utilizing OUR tax dollars. We here in this room and in this county are paying for the genocide of the Palestinian people. Just last week, both of our state’s U.S. Senators Casey and Fetterman voted to send an additional $14.1 billion dollars in military aid to Israel. Yes, the money could be spent in many other places but ignoring that, our tax dollars should NOT be financing an illegal occupation. They should NOT be financing the genocide of an entire people.
At our recent GPOAC convention, Green Party members voted overwhelmingly to organize for a ceasefire in Gaza in solidarity with Green Parties around the world. This stance is directly in line with the U.S. Green Party's platform which calls for an end to the occupation. As a result here today, the Green Party of Allegheny County is calling for a ceasefire resolution and for the Allegheny County Council to vote for such a resolution directed towards our full Congressional delegation to demand that they support a ceasefire. We needed a ceasefire more than 100 days ago. Having failed that, we need a ceasefire right now.
Jay Ting Walker is a member of the Green Party of Pennsylvania (GPPA) Steering Committee. He was a co-chair of GPPA from 2020 until 2023.
The Green Party of PA, https://www.gpofpa.org, is an independent political party which stands in opposition to the two corporate parties. GPPA candidates promote public policy based on the Green Party’s Four Pillars: grassroots democracy, nonviolence, ecological wisdom, and social justice/equal opportunity. For further information about GPPA, please email [email protected]. Please follow GPPA on social media: Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/gpofpa/; Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/pagreenparty/; and Twitter, https://twitter.com/GreenPartyofPA.
For more information, please see:
“Ending the Gaza War: Can a Just Peace Arise?” webinar, GPUS Peace Action Committee, December 1, 2023, https://www.gp.org/ending_the_gaza_war_can_a_just_peace_arise
“Green Party condemns attacks on civilians in Israel and Gaza; calls for immediate ceasefire,” news release, Green Party of the U.S., October 12, 2023, https://www.gp.org/green_party_condemns_attacks_on_civilians
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